There has been talk of the British royal family's Polish "roots" before, mainly in the context of rather distant connections to Sophia Jagiellon, daughter of Casimir Jagiellon and wife of Frederick II Hohenzollern. These blood ties dating back to the 15th century might seem exaggerated, considering such connections can be found in every royal family or high nobility where marriages were often alliances. However, it turns out that King Charles III can indeed speak of Polish roots, and not from the medieval era.
King Charles III's Polish Roots: His Great-Great-Grandmother Was Julia Hauke
King Charles III's great-great-grandmother was Julia Salomea von Hauke, the daughter of Polish Count General Maurycy Hauke, who fought in the war with Russia, the Kościuszko Uprising, and in the Polish Legions alongside Napoleon, and Sophie Lafontaine. Julia was born in Warsaw in 1825, and her story is the perfect material for a period drama. Her father died during the November Uprising. As an opponent of the uprising, he was killed on the first day by insurgents in front of his wife and youngest children. Julia's mother and her siblings came under the care of Tsar Nicholas I. Her eldest brother had already joined the uprising.
Julia Hauke Lived an Interesting Life: She Married in Secret, and Her Great-Great-Great-Grandson Is the King of Spain
Julia became a lady-in-waiting to Maria, wife of Tsar Alexander II. At the court, she met Maria's brother, Prince Alexander von Hessen-Darmstadt. They fell in love, but the Tsar did not approve. However, the young couple defied his will and fled to Wrocław, where they married in secret when Julia was six months pregnant. Their children had no rights to titles from their father, as Julia did not come from a royal family, and their marriage was considered a mésalliance. However, Alexander's brother, Louis III, granted her and their five children the titles of Princes of Battenberg. Julia died on September 19, 1895, at Heiligenberg Castle in Jugenheim.
The couple's son was Louis Battenberg, also known as Louis Mountbatten, Marquess of Milford Haven, and a distinguished admiral of the British fleet. He changed his name at the urging of King George V. He married Queen Victoria's granddaughter, and his grandson was Philip, husband of Elizabeth II and father of Charles III. However, not only is Charles III related to Julia von Hauke, but also the King of Spain, Felipe VI, her great-great-great-grandson.
